Orthopedic cushioning pads



April 23, 1963 L. c. LOWTH 3,086,523

ORTHOPEDIC CUSHIONING PADS Filed April 20, 1961 INVENTOR. (Av/V420 6356a40? United States. Patent 3,086,523 ORTHOPEDIC CUSHIONING PADS LeonardCecil Lowth, London, England, assignor to The Schoii Mfg. Co., Inc.,Chicago, 111., a corporation of New York Filed Apr. 20, 1961, Ser. No.104,367 Claims priority, application Great Britain Oct. 28, 1960 6Claims. (Cl. 128--153) This invention relates to improvements inorthopedic cushioning pads, and more particularly to an orthopedic or asurgical pad having a digit loop, the pad being highly desirable for useon the foot of a wearer for the alleviation of and relieving of pressurefrom afflictions such as bunions, hammer toe corns, bony prominences onthe top of the great toe, calluses beneath the great toe, and forvarious other purposes and affiictions, the device also being wearableupon the hand of a user to relieve swollen joints, abrasions, callusesand other and various injuries, as will be apparent to one skilled inthe art.

With an afiiiction on a curved or rounded portion of the body, such as abunion opposite the first or fifth metatarsal heads, it is desirable notonly to overlie the affliction with some pressure relieving means, butalso to more or less surround the aflliction with pressure relievingmeans. The mere covering of the affliction is not deemed sutfiicient forproper relief of pressure from wearing apparel or the like, but by moreor less surrounding the affliction, the pressure even on the partoverlying the afliiction is transferred to healthy tissue surroundingthe affliction and the aifliction itself is protected virtually from allsides. A pad that is curved both longitudinally and laterally so as toprovide an overall concave-convex shape is perhaps best suited for thispurpose.

However, in the past, concavo-convex pads had to be molded to desiredshape, an expensive procedure, or had to be cut to the proper shape byan expensive operation, or as is the case in most instances, narrowV-shaped notches were cut in the body of the pad, and then the sidewalls of the notches brought together and cemented in order to give thepad the desired curve shape, also adding materially to the cost ofmanufacture. In many cases flat pads having an opening or aperturetherein to receive the afliiction were utilized, but such pads did noteffectively .and properly transfer pressure of wearing apparel away fromthe afliiction itself to the healthy tissue around it.

With the foregoing in mind, it is an important object of the instantinvention to provide an orthopedic or surgical pad provided with a digitloop, and having a generally flat body part, but which pad is soconstructed as to give the operative effect of a concavo-convex pad.

Aonther object of this invention is the provision of an orthopedic orsurgical pad which, while generally flat, will protect an afflictionfrom pressure by at least partially surrounding that aifliction andtransferring pressure from wearing apparel to the healthy tissue aroundthe afiiiction.

It is also a feature of this invention to provide an orthopedic orsurgical pad having a cushioning body part with an arcuate piece orflange also of cushioning material secured to the body part at thebounding edge of the pad, but extending freely away from the body partunless pressed thereagainst by some adjacent object.

Also an object of this invention is the provision of an orthopedic orsurgical pad capable of giving the effect of a concavo-convex pad, whilebeing generally flat, and comprising a cushion body part to which acircumferential flange is secured at the bottom bounding edge of thepad, which flange extends freely away from the body part around themargin of the same, and when the body part is curved by an article ofapparel around the curve 3,086,523 Patented Apr. 23, 1963 portion of thebody, there is a tendency for such marginal flange to extend furtheraway from the body portion of the pad.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide an orthopedicor surgical pad having a cushion body part, and a castellated marginalflange connected to that body part at the bounding edge of the pad andotherwise extending away from the body part unless physically pressedthereagainst, the castellated effect preventing wrinkling of the flangepiece when the body part is bent or curved by an article of apparel.

While some of the salient features, characteristics and advantages ofthe instant invention have been above pointed out, others will becomeapparent from the following disclosures, taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawing, in which: 7

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of an orthopedic or surgicalpad embodying principles of the instant invention shown in place uponthe human foot;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged plan view of the inside face or body contactingface of the pad of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through the pad takensubstantially as indicated by the line I=II---III of FIGURE 2, lookingin the direction of the arrows; and 7 FIGURE 4 is a view similar incharacter to FIGURE 2, but showing a slightly different form ofconstruction.

As shown on the drawings:

In FIGURE 1 I have shown a pad, generally indicated by numeral 1,embodying principles of this invention, in operative position on a humanfoot 2 for the alleviation of an affliction such as a bunion. The pad isheld in place by means of a stretchable or elastic digit loop 3embracing the great toe 4 of the human foot. While in this figure thepad is illustrated in position for the alleviation of an :afiiictionsuch as a bunion, it will be obvious to one skilled in the art that thepad may be applied to the foot or hand of the user in many and variousother locations for the alleviation of various types of afllictions.Also, the pad may have various body part shapes and be made in varioussizes, depending upon what particular afflictions the pad is to be used.

In the illustrated instance the body portion of the pad is shown in theform of a Wide oval provided with an extension 5 at one end thereof towhich the digit loop 3 is attached. The loop 3 may be of any commonlyknown elastic material, such as a fabric woven with stretchable threadstherein. A

Although the body part of the pad may be of foam latex or some othercushioning material having a smooth slick covering thereover, the bodypart is preferably made of thermoplastic material, and in theillustrated instance comprises a thermoplastic film or sheet 6 such as avinyl film as a cover member and which is preferably provided withnumerous apertures therein as indicated at 7 in FIG- URE 1. Injuxtaposed relationship with the cover 6 is a much thicker sheet 8 ofthermoplastic foam cushioning material, such as polyvinyl chloride foam,polyurethane foam, a combination of both, or equivalent material. Thissheet 8 is of equal area with the cover sheet and is preferably joinedto the cover sheet by a heat seal. seam 9 which defines the boundingedge of the pad. This heat seal seam 9 may be provided with the aid of asuitable die in an electronic heat sealing presswherein when the sheetis permitted. The cushioning sheet 8 has inter communicating cellstherein and so adequate ventilation is provided by way of those cellsand the apertures in the cover in the event the pad is used on a portionof the body continuously under pressure or disposed beneath the plantarsurface of the foot, for example.

As seen in FIGURE 3 the strap or digit loop 3 may extend between the twolayers 6 and 8, and this strap will be firmly anchored in position bythe heat seal seam 9 when the same is formed.

In order to give the present invention the efiect of a concavo-convexpad, when in fact the body portion of the pad is substantially flat asseen in FIGURE 3, a marginal flange piece 10 which extends preferably atleast half-way around the body of the pad is secured at the boundingedge of the pad in the same heat seal seam 9 and thus united with thelayers 6 and 8. This flange piece 10 may well be made of the samecushion type material as the layer 8. As seen best in FIGURE 2, the

end portions 11-11 of the marginal piece or flange piece 10 taper offlaterally or gradually decrease in width until these end portions mergewith the bounding edge of the pad body.

With reference to FIGURE 3 it will be noted that the flange piece 10,being secured to the remainder of the pad only at the bounding edge ofthe pad tends to extend inwardly beneath and away from the sheet 8 asevinced by the space 12 between these parts. Now if the pad body isgiven a laterally curvate contour as it will assume when positioned asseen in FIGURE 1 and an article of footwear is worn over it, the flangepiece 10 has a tendency to extend farther away from the body of the padand this adds to the ability of the flange piece in transferringpressure from wearing apparel to healthy tissue around the alfliction,which will be received or covered by the central portion of the bodypart inside the arcuate edge 13 of the flange piece. In order for thepad to provide the beneficial effects of a concavo-convex pad, it isonly necessary for the arcuate flange piece 10 to extend in theneighborhood of half-way round the body portion of the pad, asillustrated, since the remainder of the body portion will be heldagainst the body of the user by the digit loop 3 whereas the freelyextending portion of the pad will be retained against the users body bya stocking or other wearing apparel.

In use, the instant invention is quite simple and eflective. In order tomount the pad in position it is merely necessary to pass the elasticloop 3 over a digit, such as a toe for example, and position the pad sothat the central portion of the body part inside the curvate edge 13 ofthe flange piece 10 overlies the affliction. The flange piece, adding tothe thickness of the pad around the aflliction, effectively transferspressure of apparel to the healthy tissue around the aflliction, at thesame time the pad by way of its body portion provides a protective coverover the extremely sensitive region of the affliction itself. The pad issimple in construction, economical to manufacture, may be launderedWhenever deemed necessary and extremely quickly dried, has a soft andcomfortable feel to the body of the user, and is extremely long lived.

In FIGURE 4 I have disclosed a modified form of structure wherein thepad is identical to that previously described except for the flangepiece Which, in this instance, is castellated as indicated at 14 withspaces 15 between the castellations. In this instance, in order toexpedite manufacture, the castellations 14 may have a fine joining outermargin so that the castellated flange piece may be handled as a singlepiece of material during assembly, and this joined outer margin of thecastellations will be incorporated in the heat seal seam 9 leaving thecastellations spaced from each other. The castellations have a definiteadvantage in that when the body portion of the pad is given a curved orarcuate shaping around an aflliction or a portion of the body of theuser, the castellations prevent the formation of wrinkles or lcreases inthe flange piece. Otherwise the pad of FIG- URE 4 functions the same asthat previously described.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effectedwithout departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the presentinvention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In an orthopedic pad, a substantially flat body part comprising athermoplastic cover sheet, a thicker thermoplastic foam cushioning sheetof equal area underlying said cover sheet, a heat seal seam joining saidsheets and defining the bounding edge of said body part, an extension atone end of said body part, a digit loop attached to said extension, andan arcuate thermoplastic flange piece secured in said heat seal seamcircumferentially to said body part opposite said digit loop, saidflange piece being otherwise unsecured to said body part and projectingaway therefrom.

2. In an orthopedic pad, a substantially flat body part comprising athermoplastic cover sheet, a thicker thermoplastic foam cushioning sheetof equal area underlying said cover sheet, a heat seal seam joining saidsheets and defining the bounding edge of said body part, an extension atone end of said body part, a digit loop attached to said extension, andan arcuate thermoplastic flange piece secured in said heat seal seamcircumferentially to said body part opposite said digit loop, saidflange piece being other-wise unsecured to said body part and projectingaway therefrom, said flange piece being substantially as thick as saidfoam sheet and having its end portions decreasing in width laterally tomerge with said heat seal seam.

3. In an orthopedic pad, a substantially flat body part comprising athermoplastic cover sheet, a thicker thermoplastic foam cushioning sheetof equal area underlying said cover sheet, a heat seal seam joining saidsheets and defining the bounding edge of said body part, an extension atone end of said body part, a digit loop attached to said extension, andan arcuate thermoplastic marginal flange piece secured to said body partonly by said heat seal seam and extending approximately half-way aroundsaid body part at the end thereof opposite said digit loop.

4. In an orthopedic pad, a cushioning body part, means to attach saidbody part to the flesh of a user, and a cushioning piece shaped todefine a marginal flange around at least a portion of said body part andextending inwardly beneath and away from said body part, said flangepiece being secured to said body part only at its edge and to the edgeof said body part, said flange piece being castellated with a spacebetween adjacent castellations.

5. In an orthopedic pad, a cushioning body part, means to attach saidbody part to the flesh of a user, and flange means of cushioningmaterial secured only to the edge of said body part and extendinginwardly in normally spaced relationship to said body part, said flangemeans comprising spaced castellations.

6. In an orthopedic pad, a body part comprising a thermoplastic coversheet, a thicker thermoplastic foam cushioning sheet of equal areaunderlying said cover sheet, a heat seal seam joining said sheets anddefining the bounding edge of said body part, a digit loop attached tosaid body part adjacent an end thereof, and an arcuate thermoplasticflange piece with its outer edge secured in said heat seal seam oppositesaid digit loop and extending approximately halfway around said body,said sheets and said flange being otherwise unsecured and said flangeprojecting beneath and away from said body part.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,237,285 Block Aug. 21, 1917 2,432,559 Clarke Dec. 16, 1947 2,585,629Crawford Feb. 12, 1952 2,786,466 Rudnick Mar. 26, 1957

1. IN AN ORTHOPEDIC PAD, A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT BODY PART COMPRISING ATHERMOPLASTIC COVER SHEET, A THICKER THERMOPLASTIC FOAM CUSHIONING SHEETOF EQUAL AREA UNDERLYING SAID COVER SHEET, A HEAT SEAL SEAM JOINING SAIDSHEETS AND DEFINING THE BOUNDING EDGE OF SAID BODY PART, AN EXTENSION ATONE END OF SAID BODY PART, A DIGIT LOOP ATTACHED TO SAID EXTENSION, ANDAN ARCUATE THERMOPLASTIC FLANGE PIECE SECURED IN SAID HEAT SEAL SEAMCIRCUMFERENTIALLY TO